


Autumn Shadows

by Kudalyn



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: M/M, Yu-Gi-Oh Season Zero, s0, yugi playing in leaves like the cutie he is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2016-10-20
Packaged: 2018-08-23 12:39:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8328259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kudalyn/pseuds/Kudalyn
Summary: Yugi plays with his shadow in the autumn leaves.Quick unedited drabble inspired by a lovely art by Jujuoh on tumblr, quick cute drabble with Season 0 Yugi and Yami!Crossposted to my tumblr.





	

 

The autumn sun felt warm on Yugi’s back as he walked down the street, humming to himself lightly. He idly kicked a pebble around with his scuffed sneaker, enjoying the clacking against the pavement and the occasional crunch of a leaf underfoot.

It didn’t startle him when he felt a slight chill run down his spine, not from the cool breeze playing with fallen leaves around him. Nor did it startle him when his shadow stretched forward, almost blending in with the rest of the stretched shadows from the sunset - and curved, as if it was looking around the street corner Yugi was approaching.

“Safe?” Yugi asked softly, and he watched his own shadow shake its head at him, its mirrored flyaway hair being flung about.

Yugi decided today was a good day to take the scenic route, and turned down the other street.

His shadow trailed behind him, hesitating, like it was watching his back - which it was. It didn’t matter that it defied the rules of light, refusing to bend to the sun’s whims. What mattered was Yugi.

Yugi felt the shiver run back up his spine, and knew his shadow was retracting, once again camouflaging with the rest of the world’s natural shadows. Yugi turned his head and looked at his shadow splashed against the wall beside him - and it turned to look at him. To anyone else, Yugi knew it’d look like it was just doing what all shadows do, but if anyone looked closely they’d realize it wasn’t quite right, more mirroring the small boy rather than mimicking.

Yugi had long accepted his new friend that lived in his shadow. He’d had yet to really ‘speak’ with whatever it was - the shadow seeming to not have a voice of its own. But he did know that it protected him, that he was sure of. He remembered flashes, shards of memories before he would black out - watching through puffy, beaten eyes as his shadow had stretched menacingly up along the brick wall of his school, like it was devouring all light around it.

And although he knew he should fear, fear very much of the thing that ate his own natural shadow - the reassurance, the security he felt in his new shadow’s embrace was something he could not deny.

So he didn’t. Honestly, he liked having such a secret companion, someone only he knew of.

“Have you been to the park yet?” Yugi asked his shadow, quietly and under his breath.

His shadow hesitated, then shook its head.

Yugi smiled warmly at his companion. “Then let’s go! Grandpa won’t mind if we’re a few minutes late to dinner!” he said brightly, breaking out in a dash forward.

His shadow paused however, frozen in shock on the wall even as Yugi ran ever further, his shadow tied to his feet stretching longer and longer. It didn’t seem to still know how to react to Yugi’s smile and seamless inclusion into his life.

It wasn’t until Yugi stopped and looked back over at his shoulder that the shadow realized that it was out strangely in the open, and quickly slid under the leaves and debris on the road till it snapped back in place behind its small charge.  

Yugi beamed and resumed his running, his shadow never leaving him with each step forward.

The Millennium Puzzle bounced against Yugi’s small chest with each step, but no matter how heavy it seemed it never hurt him, or left bruises. It was more of a comforting weight, always slightly warm to the touch like someone had been holding it close for a long time.

Yugi guessed that his weird blackouts had something to do with him completing the Puzzle - and probably, his new friend. He vaguely remembered a flash of light when he had slipped the last puzzle piece into its slot that terrifying night, some deep, urgent part of him telling him what to do. That was the first time that he had felt the now-familiar shiver that shook his body, and it hadn’t taken him too long to put two and two together, specially when he kept having blackouts whenever he was in danger.

He slowed when they reached the park, slipping between the barriers at the entrance. The park was quiet, most people already at home for dinner. The ground was covered in a bright, multicolored carpet of leaves, so thick it was mostly undisturbed by the breeze.

Yugi let out a noise of excitement, running forward and dashing through the leaves, leaving cleared away tracks wherever he kicked, leaves flying.

He kicked and spun and made a mess of the perfect carpet, eventually clearing away a clean spot of pavement. As he stopped to catch his breath, he heard rustling behind him, turning around to watch as the leaves shifted slightly as if something was underneath them, only to startle when his shadow finally caught up with him, appearing from under the leaves.

“You can move stuff?” Yugi couldn’t help but blurt out, and his shadow just shrugged, batting at a nearby stray leaf - and touching the leaf’s shadow, it shifted a centimeter. It seemed it could affect things shadows, but not by much.

All the same, it gave Yugi an idea. He slowly bent over, gathering a handful of leaves and watching his shadow watch him curiously.

His shadow had no warning when Yugi suddenly tossed his armful of leaves at his shadow, startling the poor thing and making it flail about inelegantly, rustling leaves and dodging away from the pile.

Yugi burst out laughing, not knowing how a shadow could emulate discontent without facial expressions, yet somehow his shadow pulled it off perfectly, specially when it crossed its arms and bounced its shoulders in a huff.

Yugi was knocked out of his laughter when his foot was suddenly yanked forward, scuffing over pavement. He stared bewildered at his shadow - it was smug! It had moved him!

Two could play at that game, and Yugi made a big, showy stomp forward, trying to catch his shadow.

His shadow dodged to the side, and the two of them had a bare second of a face off before his shadow was off, stretching forward and dashing under the leaves leaving a rustling trail as it fled.

“Hey!” Yugi cried out, the giggles back, as he leapt forward, following the rustling trail his shadow left behind as he kicked and scattered leaves, intent on clearing patches where his shadow could not hide from him.

It was a good race, his shadow zipping and racing but never stretching too far, too enthralled in the excitement of Yugi clamoring after it.

It was a good five minutes later when Yugi finally managed to corner the shadow in a small leaf pile, most of the leaves in the near area being cleared away by their roughhousing. Yugi dramatically ‘snuck’ up on it, hands raised up in a dramatic claw with the sun at his back, before he pounced on the pile, scattering leaves with his hands.

“Got you!” Yugi cried out triumphantly, only for his excitement to die in his throat when he met the startled gaze of his own shadow - bright yellow eyes he had never seen before staring up at him through the dark, blank face.

His shadow blinked up at him wide and utterly shocked, before the eyes suddenly winked out of existence, and he felt the shiver run up his spine, his shadowy friend completely retreating.

“Wait! Don’t go!” Yugi managed to cry out in a strangled, startled voice, both hands slapping to the pavement as he uselessly tried to catch his friend.

He was met with silence though, only his normal shadow staring up at him blankly, leaves settling around his legs. He sat there quietly, sadly, the only noise around the faint breeze playing with the leaves, a bird in a tree in the distance.

He hadn’t meant to scare his friend away - he had gotten carried away, and it seemed so had his shadowy friend. Yugi was about to stand back up, upset and ashamed he had distressed his friend so much, when he felt the slowest prickle of a shiver smooth down his spine, and he watched his own shadow’s face expectantly.

Nothing much changed for a few breaths, but Yugi stared marveled as slowly, a glowing pair of eyes appeared, squinted, before blinking up at him in a wary manner. The eyes were like sunlight, bright and illuminating the pavement as if Yugi had holes in his head, but he knew better.

“Hi.” He said breathlessly, and his friend slowly blinked at him, dipping its head in acknowledgement.

Yugi’s heart beat in his chest in excitement - he’d known his friend, met them as face to face as one could with a shadow, but he knew this was special - this was one more level of his friend he had been shown, something special and previously hidden.

“Want to go home for dinner? I’m sure Grandpa’s starting to worry.” Yugi said warmly, his small sunny smile clear on his face. He knew enough of his easily startled friend that the best way he could show appreciation for this special gift was to just accept it as normal, to show his friend they could be more of themselves around Yugi.

His shadowy friend blinked up at him curiously, before nodding. The eyes faded once again, but Yugi knew that his friend wasn’t retreating, just hiding for now from prying eyes for the trip home.

Yugi got to his feet, brushing his hands off on his pants, and headed the both of them for home, his small smile never leaving his face.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to leave comments, even if I don't reply on this site- I read and love every single one! If you'd like a reply from me, please send an ask to my tumblr!


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